The inventive concept relates generally to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly, to nonvolatile memory devices and related methods for performing read operations with reduced read disturbance.
Semiconductor memory devices can be roughly divided into two categories according to whether they retain stored data when disconnected from power. These categories include volatile memory devices, which lose stored data when disconnected from power, and nonvolatile memory devices, which retain stored data when disconnected from power.
Examples of volatile memory devices include static random access memory (SRAM) devices, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices, and synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) devices. Examples of nonvolatile memory devices include flash memory devices, read only memory (ROM) devices, programmable ROM (PROM) devices, electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM) devices, and various forms of resistive memory such as phase-change RAM (PRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), and resistive RAM (RRAM).
In recent years, researchers have developed three-dimensional (3D) semiconductor memory devices in an effort to increase the integration density of semiconductor memory devices. Structural characteristics of 3D semiconductor memory devices are different from those of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor memory devices, so they require different driving methods compared to the 2D semiconductor memory devices. For example, due to their different structural characteristics, the 3D semiconductor memory devices may experience different electrical parasitics, which may require driving voltages to be provided with different levels and timing compared to 2D semiconductor memory devices.